Sips of Maginnes: Bohn fine with role as Gator bait

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ANNANDALE, Miss. -- Three former British Open champions who now find their games in varying degrees of disrepair teed it up together for the first two rounds of the Viking Classic.

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It was pretty clear early on that Todd Hamilton was going to have a short week but David Duval shot 68 in the opening round and John Daly had a round of even par to give themselves a good shot at making the cut. Duval came to the par-5 18th on a blustery Friday needing an eagle while John had to make a birdie.

David hit it to 20 feet but Daly's ball found the water with his second shot. When Duval's ball slipped underneath the hole and he tapped in for birdie his fate was sealed as well, and the three major champions all had the weekend off.

DAVID DUVAL IS PROBABLY safe in terms of the top 125 on the money list -- even though he missed the cut he stayed at 107th -- but he would like to contend in the Fall Series. Daly, on the other hand, needs a small miracle to become exempt again on the PGA TOUR, and he will not go to q-school this fall even though it could certainly help his cause. He said he will rely on his Past Champions status and the kindness of tournament directors once again in 2011. Unless, of course, he catches lightning in a bottle in one of the four remaining tournaments.

JASON BOHN IS THE NICEST GUY on the PGA TOUR. I know that is quite a statement, but I challenge you to find any player, caddie or tournament official that would argue against it. But on Thursday and Friday Jason was paired with Chris DiMarco and Brian Gay, who both went to school at the University of Florida.

That is significant because Bohn is a graduate of University of Alabama and the No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide was pitted against the Gators in one of Saturday's marquee games. So Bohn certainly let his fellow competitors know that 'Bama was ready for the Gators.

The ribbing was good-natured, of course, but DiMarco takes his Florida football as seriously as anyone can who never suited up and played for the Gators. Even Chris knew that the Gators would have their hands full in Tuscaloosa but he was not about to miss the game. After his round on Saturday he flew to Tuscaloosa to root on his team. He returned in plenty of time for the final round although he was certainly a little dejected as his Gators were beaten into submission by the Tide.

MICHAEL ALLEN HAD a decision to make in Jackson and the 51-year-old was in no hurry to do it. He simply couldn't decide where to play golf next week. The Champions Tour is up at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm outside of Washington, D.C., for its final major of the season but the PGA TOUR is in Sea Island for the inaugural McGladrey Classic.

Allen, who wants to play enough on the PGA TOUR to remain exempt, finished second at the TOUR's Viking Classic on Sunday and jumped from 166th to 117th on the money list. But there is also the top 30 on the Champions Tour which comes with benefits of a full exemption and the right to play just one pro-am a week next year. Michael, who currently ranks 20th on the Champions Tour, joked about his predicament and ended up choosing the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship.

WHAT A WILD FINAL ROUND the Viking Classic produced. Fall finally reached the Deep South on Sunday and the temperature failed to reach 80 degrees for the first time since early spring. The wind blew the leaderboard into utter disarray, too. Bill Haas lost and regained command in the blink of an eye on the back nine watching his three-shot lead disappear No. 12 when he made his second bogey in a row.

But a birdie at No. 13, coupled with one of the most unfortunate breaks of the year for Michael Allen, gave Bill a three-shot advantage again. Michael's tee shot clipped the trees just left of the fairway and was flung wildly to the left, hitting the cart path and going out of bounds. Michael's double bogey took him out of contention for what would have been his first PGA TOUR win in 358 starts.

Stroud

CHRIS STROUD WAS THE BUBBLE BOY at the Viking Classic, entering the week No. 125 on the money list. With his tie for fifth on Sunday Chris vaulted up to 111th and nearly $90,000 ahead of the new bubble boy, Webb Simpson. With four tournaments left in the Fall Series the attention is all about money. Obviously the top 125 remain fully exempt on TOUR for 2011. But the top 150 maintain some status, and James Driscoll is the man on the hot seat there.

JUST BEHIND WEBB SIMPSON on the money list is Henrik Stenson. The 2009 PLAYERS champ isn't worried about any kind of exemption since that victory comes with five year's of job security and entry into all the big tournaments. But to take advantage he needs to play 15 tournaments on the PGA TOUR. After missing the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup he needs two more starts to fulfill his membership obligation so the two-time Ryder Cup member plans to tee it up the next two weeks.

Former PGA TOUR player John Maginnes is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.